Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Hits New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $20.23 and last traded at $20.40, with a volume of 830726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CAG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $22.00 target price on Conagra Brands in a report on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on Conagra Brands from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Bank of America cut Conagra Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $27.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.73.

Conagra Brands Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2,781,800 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.88 billion. Conagra Brands had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 2.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Conagra Brands will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Conagra Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 30th. Conagra Brands's payout ratio is currently 205.88%.

Institutional Trading of Conagra Brands

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Conagra Brands by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,403,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,610,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,893 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,859,985 shares of the company's stock worth $316,306,000 after acquiring an additional 698,630 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,745,629 shares of the company's stock worth $325,096,000 after acquiring an additional 231,477 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 49.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,162,251 shares of the company's stock worth $217,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Conagra Brands by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 8,135,000 shares of the company's stock worth $225,746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,058,000 shares in the last quarter. 83.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice segments. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels.